Top 7 Persona in Persona 3

Persona 3 History

Persona 3 is the game that really brought the series to mainstream attention. You could fight monsters, collect entities called "persona", uncover mysteries, form social links with classmates, and best of all, play as an emo kid. The game was so well-received that it now has a remastered version, Persona 3 FES, and an iteration on the Playstation Portable, P3P.

But we're not here to review the slight differences between the versions; we want to countdown the strongest persona! To ensure this list is different than our review of Persona 4's best persona, we'll take an entirely new set of creatures; many appear in both games. As a quick refresher, remember that persona differ in their base attributes, skill set, and elemental strengths/weaknesses. Without further ado, this is the top seven persona from Persona 3!

Kohryu

7. Kohryu

Base level: 61. Arcana: Hierophant.

Kohryu literally means yellow dragon. He looks more grey to me, but with his powers, I'm not complaining.

No weakness to any element

Blocks Light attacks

Can learn skills to become immune to Pierce and Strike Physical moves

Great healing capabilities

Kohryu also partially restores his summoner's SP each turn, enabling them to use skills more often. Finally, he can heal a defeated ally, reviving them to full health, or he can simply fully restore the stamina of each conscious party member. Definitely a dragon you want on your side.

Scathach

6. Scathach

Base Level: 60.Arcana: Priestess.

In Irish mythology, Scathach is a powerful warrior and famed martial arts instructor. Well, a bunch of misfortune happens to her family, but that's mythology for you.

Resistant to Pierce, Light, Ice, and Wind

Auto-restores some SP each turn

Capable of removing status ailments

Attacks hit all enemies

Scathach can strike with ice, wind, or pierce damage, so few enemies can resist all her elements. Last, she may charge up the power of her next physical attack by 250%. Considering the attack will hit all enemies, she'll likely wipe each out in one blow. Not bad for someone with a name like Scathath.

Norn

5. Norn

Base Level: 62. Arcana: Fortune.

n Norse mythology, Norn refers to women who rule over the fate of various peoples; the three most prominent are Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, whom you can see around the clock.

Recovers some HP and SP each turn

Absorbs Wind, can learn a skill to absorb Electric

Passive ability boosts Wind attacks

Norn strikes hard with Wind, targeting one enemy or all as the situation warrants. However, she has two weaknesses. First, she can't hit with anything other than wind. Second, she's weak to electricity, but eventually learns an ability that'll absorb electric attacks, nullifying the vulnerability and rendering her free of weaknesses.

4. Melchizedek

Next, we have Melchizedek, a wise figure who the Bible states lived in the time of Abraham.

Reflects Light, can learn to reflect Dark

Resists Strike (in updated versions of the game)

Auto-constructs a barrier at the beginning of each fight

Melchizedek is weak to Dark, but will learn an ability to reflect it too, leaving him with no weaknesses. Reflecting both Light and Dark moves is awesome considering they are instant kill attacks.

Melchizedek may also fully heal your party. He's a master of strike attacks, but can also attempt an instakill Light move if necessary. For his power, healing, and resistances, give him a try, even if he does look like Beetle from Spider-Man.

Arahabaki

3. Arahabaki

Base Level: 54. Arcana: Hermit.

Unlike many persona, Arahabaki can't heal, but he'll automatically form a shield to bolster defense for three turns. Additionally, he has a plethora of fantastic traits:

Virus Breath both damages and Poisons foes

Resists Electric and Dark

Blocks Fire and Light

Can learn to reflect Ice and block Strike

The downside? Arahabaki starts off weak to Strike and Ice; but will learn skills to reflect Ice and negate Strike, covering his weaknesses and adding even more defenses. For his incredible tanking and unique attack, this bizarre-looking persona easily proves his power.

Cybele

2. Cybele

Base Level: 68. Arcana: Lovers.

Cybele protects many areas, including Athens, according to Greek lore. As a persona, she demonstrates incredible powers:

Has no weaknesses

Resists Fire and Electric, blocks Dark

Halves cost of SP moves

Can revive allies to full health

Can attack with Almighty damage

Cybele has the rare skill to revive a fallen ally with full health, and the even rarer ability to hit with Almighty damage, an element that cannot be resisted. Additionally, she automatically raises defense for a few turns, halves SP costs, and doubles the damage your character will deal if you're wielding a bow.

Cybele has some amazing attacks, good resistances, no weaknesses, and useful passive abilities, so it's easy to see why she almost makes it to first place. But one persona shines even brighter..

Messiah

1. Messiah

Base Level: 90. Arcana: Judgment.

In several religions, various messiah appear to redeem mankind and guide us to salvation. In the Persona 3 games (especially the updates), Messiah demonstrates incredible strength.

Auto-restores some HP and SP each turn

Resists Fire, Ice, Electricity, and Wind

Reflects Light

Can learn to absorb Pierce

Can learn passive ability boosting magic damage by 50%

Can learn to auto-revive to full health once per battle when defeated

Can hit all enemies with Almighty damage

Can restore entire team's HP and remove ailments

Yep, Messiah resists or reflects a ton of elements, and can not only heal your team's wounds, but cure their ailments too. He slams all enemies with an immensely powerful Almighty attack that few may withstand, especially when he learns an ability to increase magic damage.

Messiah's only weakness is that he's vulnerable to the one-hit kill Dark techniques, which have a higher chance of hitting him. Even then, Messiah develops a skill that will revive himself with full health once per battle. Taking down this juggernaut will not be easy for your enemies.

Your Choice

Which persona do you favor?

The Future of Persona

The future looks bright as we see more and more Persona games brought to gamer's attention. In addition to the main games, we now have Persona 5, Persona 4 Arena, a fighting title, and Persona Q, a dungeon explorer that lets you control characters from both 3 and 4.

If Persona keeps creating masterpieces like these, it'll be around for generations to come. For now, vote for your favorite Persona, and I'll see you at our next countdown!